Something Was Wrong
by Jessie611
Summary: The end of another bad day brought back traumatic memories from Chloe's recent past. JC


Something was wrong, she could sense a shift in the way people were treating her. She thought that strange in itself because she wasn't at all perceptive to other people on a normal day, but today had been far from normal. She looked up and saw Bill, Jack and Karen talking heatedly in Bill's office, they were watching some sort of video feed but she couldn't see what was on the screen. Of course if she wanted to she could feed into it from her own screen undetected but she knew that if it was necessary for her to know, Jack would let her in on it at some point.

Suddenly Jack looked at her and their eyes met, his full of confusion and anger and for a moment she felt the full force of that anger directed at her. Oh, God, what has she done now? She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she knew she messed up sometimes but that was usually on the people side of things and that was something Jack usually understood. But there was no understanding in his expression now.

She tried to focus back on her own work but if anyone asked at that moment she didn't think she would be able to tell them what was on her screen. She saw a movement in front of her and looked up. He was standing there, telling her he needed to talk to her privately. Well, if she was in real trouble it would be Bill talking to her rather than Jack so she got up feeling somewhat relieved thinking that Jack wanted to talk to her about a lead or something. She followed him through the halls of CTU into one of the small interview rooms in the back of the building.

He opened the door for her, which was unusual then followed her through, closing then locking the door behind him. She stood there feeling a little uncomfortable. "Sit Chloe" Jack ordered somewhat tersely. She hesitated for a moment but the expression on his face told her not to argue with him. She sat.

"Michael Portman"

"Wh…what?" she asked in confusion.

"What is your relationship with him?"

"I don't know a Michael Portman Jack, what's going on?"

"Dammit Chloe, don't play with me. Tell me the truth, I know that you know him, we have evidence that you know him."

Chloe sat in stunned silence; she had never heard that name before. She was sure of it. "Jack, please tell me what this is about, you're scaring me now."

"Good, because you should be scared, you should be terrified because you, more than anyone know what I'm capable of when I believe someone is lying to me" he said leaning against the table, his face so close to hers she could feel his warm breath on the side of her face.

"Why is this Michael Portman so important and what has it got to do with me?"

"Oh, I think you know Chloe" he snarled.

"No Jack I don't so maybe you should tell me." She said rolling her eyes, her expression matching his own.

Suddenly, before she could process what was happening he had pushed the table out of the way and was forcing her back against the wall, his hand around her throat. She felt bile rising in her throat, panic creating a dryness that made it difficult to breath. His hand tightened slightly but enough for her to gasp for air as she choked back a sob. "Do not let him see" she prayed, "Do not let him see me". She wasn't used to being in this kind of tense emotional state in front of another person and the fact that he might see past her emotional barrier scared her more than the thought that he might hurt her.

As soon as it had happened he was letting her go, pushing her roughly into the chair he'd just pulled her out of. He then walked over to the intercom and spoke into it "feed the video through now Bill" he requested, the anger audible in his voice and still evident in the way he held himself.

"I want you to watch this Chloe and then tell me what you know of Michael Portman".

Before she could respond the screen came to life and she watched as if it was some sort of horror movie. She saw herself sitting at a bar, looking at her watch nervously. As she watched the man approach from the left of where she was sitting, the truth of what she was seeing dawned on her. She looked at Jack, the question dying on her lips at his expression. He forwarded the tape, stopping at a pointan hourlater when she was getting up and leaving the bar with this man. She felt the nausea rising, sheer panic making her want to flee. But there was nowhere to go and no way on earth that he would let her leave without her telling him what she knew – she was trapped.

"Tell me again that you don't know him and what I will do to you will be the least of your worries. We know that this man is the primary suspect in today's attacks and we know that three months ago you met with him in that bar."

"I only met him that night and it wasn't intentional, I wasn't waiting for him. He just approached me."

"You were waiting for someone, you kept checking your watch"

"I was waiting for someone else Jack, he just saw that I was alone and started chatting. I felt stupid enough sitting there on my own so it seemed like a good idea to have a bit of company. I was waiting for a friend who hadn't turned up, I hadn't seen him before and haven't since."

"Why did you leave with him?"

"I didn't, he just walked me to my car"

"Stop lying to me Chloe" he said, marching over to her and lifting her out of the chair, dragging her with him closer to the video screen. He flicked a button which showed footage of the car lot 8 hours later, with her car still sitting there. She could feel the pent up anger emanating from him and it scared her, but what scared her more was telling him the truth. She couldn't handle him of all people knowing what had happened that night. She felt stupid and ashamed, it was her secret and one she had told no-one.

"Chloe, if you are telling the truth you are not being very convincing. I can tell there is something you are hiding".

"Well, if you have footage in the bar and footage of my car 8 hours later then surely you can see for yourself what happened".

"That footage has been wiped, which looks even more suspicious don't you think?"

"Just give me a minute. Please Jack?" she asked the hysteria now surely evident in her voice.

"Chloe, you know how this works. We don't have a minute. You need to tell me what you know now".

Chloe turned away from him then. She felt cornered with no way of escape. She knew she had to tell him but was trying to process it first. She had a tendency to blurt things out without thinking, but this was something she needed to think about. After all, it was the biggest secret she had kept in her life and one she thought she would carry to her grave.

"DAMMIT CHLOE! If you don't start talking in the next 5 seconds I will have to force it out of you"

She could feel him standing behind her, a presence that normally comforted her but that was now her tormentor. She drew a shaking breath which she then let out in a sob, one that she couldn't hold in no matter how hard she tried. Tears were running freely as she revealed to Jack Bauer the secret she swore she would tell no-one.

"He walked me to my car and then as I was reaching for my keys, I felt something hard hit me on the back of my head. I must have lost consciousness as I came around in the back of a van heading out of the city. We drove for about half an hour then he pulled over and got into the back of the van with me". At that, she could feel Jack tense behind her even though he wasn't touching her physically, she could just sense it.

"He had a knife with him and he cut me with it to show that he was prepared to use it for real I think. Then he held me down and he…well, he…" she sighed, struggling to find the words. "You know, Jack. Please don't make me spell it out for you.."

"He raped you?" he asked, the horror of the realisation clear in his expression.

"Yes. I must have lost consciousness again because when I came to, he and the van were gone. I struggled up to the main road where I was lucky to find a female motorist who drove me to the nearest ER. They patched me up and sent me home, I didn't tell them, I didn't want anyone to know but I think they probably did know though. Anyway, you can check with the hospital and they will be able to tell you that a Jane Doe came in that night with lacerations to her chest and body. That she needed 33 stitches and treatment for mild concussion."

The tears were still falling silently when she felt his gentle touch on her shoulders, turning her to face him. She looked into his eyes and saw a flicker of doubt still there. From Jack's perspective that last glimmer of doubt vanished as soon as he looked into her eyes and saw the absolute defeat in them, the fear, the lack of self worth that was 10 fold to her norm and that was saying something.

That one flicker of doubt was enough for her to get angry though. He had not been able to hide it from her and she pushed him away roughly. He stumbled but managed to right himself, shock apparent at the forcefulness of her action.

"What Jack? Still don't believe me? Well maybe this will help." At that, and driven purely by anger Chloe pulled open the top buttons of her blouse, pulling a couple of them completely off in the process. She revealed her upper chest to him so he could see the 3 red scars, the longest of which was at lease 3 inches long, the scars were still raised and slightly angry, proving that they were relatively fresh.

"Happy now Jack? Happy that you've stripped me bare of everything? That you've taken every last ounce of self respect from me, and that's saying something for someone like me." She choked back a strangled sob and again turned away from him, leaning her forehead against the nearest wall.

"Chloe I'm so sorry, I had no idea.", the horror of what he had heard, of what he had seen dawning on him, filling him with a rage that he had not experienced in a long time despite the terrible things he had seen in his life.Again she felt him behind her; again she felt his touch, his efforts to gently turn her towards him. As he did so, she went with the pull of his touch, unable to fight any longer, unable to resist the warmth and security she was sure he was now offering. . He pulled her into his arms, one arm across her back, the other holding her head into the side of his neck, gently stroking her hair. At this, the sobs started and they weren't going to stop any time soon. When they did subside, she realised they were in the corner of the now dark room, him on the floor and she leaning into him being rocked gently back and forth.

"Chloe, why didn't you tell me? Or anyone else for that matter"

She sighed, struggling for words "People already think I'm weird Jack, this would have just added to it. They would have been talking about me, questioning things that I have long since given up questioning about myself. I couldn't handle that. I wanted to forget, I wanted to pretend it hadn't happened. Stupid, I know"

"Never stupid Chloe, maybe a little misguided, thinking that dealing with it alone was best, but stupid is never a word I'd associate with you." He tightened his hold on her for a brief moment, sensing that she was ready to pull away and feeling that he wanted to maintain their contact for a brief while longer. He felt angry, angry at Portman for doing this to her but also angry at himself for not noticing. But, this wouldn't help her now.

"Chloe, I'm really sorry that I scared you like that, it must have been the last thing you needed from me. I wish now I'd handled it differently but I thought if I scared you a little you'd tell me the truth quickly. I didn't want anyone else thinking it would be a good idea to torture you to get the information. It must have been hard for you after what you've been through and for that I will always be sorry."

She turned and looked at him suddenly, a frown on her face. "Jack, it was right what you did, you had information, evidence that I wasn't telling the whole truth and you had to find out what was going on. Yes, you scared me, but what scared me more was thinking that you didn't trust me anymore and in order for me to get that back I would have to reveal to you something that might change how you look at me. But, not for one second did I think you would hurt me."

She touched a hand to the side of his face to get him to look at her. When he did he traced a finger down the side of her cheek then looked down at her still exposed scars. She tried to cover them, feeling self conscious. He stopped her in one gentle movement, tracing a scar, his sharp intake of breath revealing to her the depth of emotion he felt at what she had been through. She refused to look into his eyes not wanting his pity, but he gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. What she saw was not pity, she saw compassion and understanding. He leaned his head against hers and swore at that moment that Michael Portman would pay for everything he had done. Not just today but what he had done to his friend all those months ago.

Karen had taken Chloe home, stayed with her for a little just to make sure she was OK. She lived in a secure building but still woke during the night terrified that he had got into her apartment. She took deep breaths to calm her racing heart whilst reminding herself that he was securely locked up at CTU, she felt reassured by that although a fleeting thought entered her mind about what Jack would do to him.

Back at CTU Jack Bauer was being restrained; he had interrogated Portman to the point where he didn't trust himself not to kill him. Portman had talked about Chloe, telling Jack he had known who she was but that she was a side issue, not a main player in the events of the day. He had done it because he could, he had initially intended to try and use Chloe to get into CTU but because of her loyalty to Jack he had known that to be impossible. Instead he had used her for his own sick game with the hope that it would indeed get to Jack – on a more personal level rather than that of national security. Jack had held it together better than anyone had thoughtuntil the point when Portman said "you know Jack, I don't know if you've ever been there but I wouldn't recommend it, she's hard work – kinda unresponsive ya know?".

Jack had grabbed him and got in a few hard punches before security had pulled him back. Bill had ordered him home stating they were transferring Portman to Division and that Jack's role was now over. He could rest, recharge his flagging batteries, or so Bill said. However it wasn't that easy he thought to himself as he drove home. A few minutes later he pulled up outside her apartment, he hadn't intended to come but something inside told him to go check on her. He saw a light coming from her window, movements beyond the blinds and realised that she too was awake.

He walked to her door and pressed the buzzer, her snarky response bringing a smile to his lips. She let him into her building and was standing in the doorway when he reached the top of the stairs. She looked at him, feeling concerned as to why he was there. He told her nothing was wrong but that he wanted to check on her. He pulled her into his arms knowing that words weren't necessary and they moved to the couch and sat like that together for a long time. Eventually she looked up at him, seeing the one man she trusted offering her comfort and suddenly she had an overwhelming desire for more. She didn't care about the consequences of her actions as she reached up and held his face in her hands, leaning in and kissing him gently on the mouth. He looked surprised at first but responded to her touch. Almost as soon as it begun he was gently leaning back, looking into her eyes for a sign of what was going on in her mind.

She told him she wanted to make love with him, that she trusted him so it made perfect sense, that she didn't want her memory of that night to stay with her any longer, that she wanted a memory of something sweeter to replace it. He hesitated, not because he didn't want to but because he was scared of hurting her. But what he saw in her eyes was complete trust, complete faith and he knew he had to give her what she needed, that he was the only man able to give her what she wanted. He kissed her then, the heat rising between them rapidly. He slowed it down, not wanting to rush her, wanting to keep her safe and comfortable with what they were doing.

They moved into the bedroom and made love slowly. It was something beautiful for both of them, sweet and tender but with a passion that neither of them had realised existed between the two of them. When it was over he pulled her towards him, holding her tighter than she thought possible – almost to the point where she couldn't tell where she finished and he began. She slept then, deeper than she had for the past three months, and he….well, he slept better than he had for the past few years.

The next morning he was gone. She stretched and looked over to the rumpled pillow next to her just checking that it hadn't all been a dream. She felt more like her old self than she had in ages and got up with a sense of hope for a new beginning. She reached down to the note on the pillow;

"Thank you Chloe; you'll never know how much I needed to be with you, needed to have you close. I'll see you in work later if you're up to it but that's up to you. Jack"

She smiled to herself. She knew that what had happened between them was a one off, that wherever they went from here it had to be back to a work footing. They had both learned that in the job they did nothing more was possible. He had helped to heal her and she him and that was better than either of them had ever hoped. She got up from the bed and went about her morning routine, knowing that today would be just like any other day but with a little more comfort, a little more hope.

Jack smiled when he saw her come in that morning; she looked like her old self. Scowling in concentration until she saw his eyes on her, then she smiled – A bright open smile that lit up a room like only she could. It was a rare occurrence and one he basked in as he returned it with his own brand of warmth just for her.


End file.
